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. . . MINI GAME REVIEWS . . .
“Keep Calm and Play like Jane”
Quills Regency Edition I and II provide a fun way for Jane Austen fans to step back into the Regency Era and out of the grip of today’s hypnotic technology. When I introduced this to three friends the element of calm seemed to emerge as I unfolded the enclosed pretty cloth for my card table. Later we all admitted the packaging and decorative details of the game materials added to the feeling of being transported back in time. We kept the ‘Rules of Play’ close by but after actually playing two games found we didn’t have to refer to them. The games reminded us of Jane’s heroines and heroes. In a few cases introduced one of us who wasn’t familiar with them was inspired to read books missed.
We all agreed this is a perfect escape from the chaos that seems to surround us daily. We were probably not as genteel and quiet as Regency ladies would have been with our laughter!
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Quills Classic Edition has the same physical elements of the Quills Regency I and II with the decorative play mat, feathers and die cut serrated edge paper simulating parchment. The difference from the two Regency Quills games is that Jane Austen is only one of seven female literary figures featured in the game. Some of us were unfamiliar with a few of the females until the book passages were read. The game was educational and fun. We celebrated at the end with our own mini version of a reception tea.
As a mother and former Waldorf early childhood teacher, I was always particular about the types of games we brought into our home. I sought after games that encouraged imagination instead of competition and games made of natural materials instead of plastic chemicals.
When Janine told me she was a game maker and introduced me to her Prairie Prose games, I was intrigued.
The Prairie Prose cooperative games were beautifully crafted using lovely materials. They invited conversation and listening without feeling forced.
Harvest Dreams was a favorite for my son at the time. He really connected with it, and it sparked great conversations about food and farming. We were playing and learning in tandem, a philosophy that was rooted in our lifetstyle.
Overall, these games are made with real intention. Fun for children, for families, and for slowing down together. They were a refreshing alternative to many of the louder, faster games on the market, and they fit beautifully into both our home life and an educational setting.
I remember them fondly and would happily recommend Prairie Prose games to families and educators looking for meaningful, imaginative play.
–Johanna Navari Welch
Mom of 2 (now a young adult and teenager!) and Former Waldorf Early Childhood Educator
(Winter ‘26)
“Marigold Games provides an excellent way to have fun and socialize with friends and family and at the same time experience literature from some of our favorites like Jane Austen & the Brontë Sisters. Enjoy while having a cup of tea. Janine Fron is very creative.”
Prairie Prose Cooperative Poetry Game was gratefully first available via the Morton Arboretum, Garfield Park Conservatory, Westchester Township History Museum, and the National Museum for Women in the Arts gift shops. More than 500+ games have been personally made in the Prairie Prose series, including DIY game workshops with Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls, Ravinia Elementary School, Louisa May Alcott Elementary and Middle Schools, Urban Prairie Waldorf School, and the Chicago Park District. More than 160+ games in the Quills! series have also been made, played and loved by Janeites and game fans alike. Exploration of these games are noted and illustrated in New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts. In tandem with these efforts, 20+ artistic renditions of unique, playable game experiences were created as part of my continuing research with games and play.
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“Prairie Prose, the game and its directions for play, offer an implicit critique of contemporary games and gaming. As the game was actually played, it became increasingly more collaborative, as players traded words, and helped each other create richer and more varied poems. In addition, the feminist (and feminine) aesthetics of the game mean for it to be held, touched, admired, and enjoyed visually, tactilely, intellectually, and collaboratively; its materiality, woodsy perfume, and hand-molded paper pocket containing the words used to play the game act as a critique of contemporary gaming practices.”
–Dr. Elizabeth J. Birmingham, Ph.D.
Feminist Media Studies (game review)
“These games offer more than entertainment, they create space for meaningful conversations and interactions between strangers who grow to become friends.”
From Instagram . . .
